WSR 17-10-006

PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY

[Filed April 20, 2017, 2:47 p.m.]

Subject of Possible Rule Making: The department is proposing to amend WAC 388-15-009 What is child abuse or neglect?, and other related rules as may be required.

Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 74.08.090, 74.04.050, 74.13.031, chapter 26.44 RCW.

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: PL 114-22 amended the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), a federal law for state receipt of federal funds, to require that a child be considered a victim of "child abuse and neglect" and of "sexual abuse" if the child is a victim of sex trafficking. To continue to qualify for federal funds, WAC 388-15-009 must be changed to incorporate sex trafficking, and this change must be implemented by May 29, 2017. These changes also align with anticipated changes to the Washington state criminal code.

In addition, the Washington state court of appeals has issued two published opinions related to RCW 26.44.020 (1) and (16): Marcum v. Dep't. of Soc. and Health Svcs., 172 Wn. App. 546, 290 P.3d 1045 (2012), and Brown v. Dep't. of Soc. and Health Svcs., 190 Wn. App. 572, 360 P.3d 875 (2015). Therefore, additional changes are being made to WAC 388-15-009 to clarify the department's interpretation of RCW 26.44.020 (1) and (16) in light of those published opinions.

Additional changes to WAC 388-15-009 will be made to strengthen and clarify the existing language.

Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: The department will continue to coordinate with the office of the attorney general.

Process for Developing New Rule: The department of social and health services (DSHS) welcomes the public to take part in developing the rules. Anyone interested should contact the staff person identified below. At a later date, DSHS will file a proposal with the office of the code reviser with a notice of proposed rule making. A copy of the proposal will be sent to everyone on the mailing list and to anyone who requests a copy.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Stephanie Frazier, P.O. Box 45710, Olympia, WA 98504, phone (360) 902-7922, fax (360) 902-7903, email Stephanie.frazier@dshs.wa.gov.

April 20, 2017

Katherine I. Vasquez

Rules Coordinator